


if you want to catch a star then walk my way

by karishma



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Tumblr Prompt, as per usual, obsessive use of commas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-11
Updated: 2013-10-11
Packaged: 2017-12-29 02:28:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/999783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karishma/pseuds/karishma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>zayn and louis are too domestic and liam and harry are too couple-y and everybody attempts to balance it out</p>
            </blockquote>





	if you want to catch a star then walk my way

**Author's Note:**

> based off of this [prompt](http://sinabit.tumblr.com/post/60904245523/paynerprise-2-8-13-uni-boyfriends-who-go)  
> I'm sorry I didn't ask you if it was okay if I filled this, and if you find it I hope you like it!  
> also slightly inspired by [this](http://sinabit.tumblr.com/post/61363836678/during-justin-timberlake-nsyncs-performance)  
> this story didn't happen in this universe, but there is an infinitely small possibility that it happened in another one  
> title from bombay bicycle club's 'fairytale lullaby'

Louis softens into the couch and turns his head towards Zayn, who's furiously sketching in his notebook, his hands smudged silver.

"Which one are you on, Lou?" Zayn questions without looking up.

Louis glances at the screen and watches as a house crumbles into an ocean.

"Iron Man. The new one, I think," he yawns and then turns so he's resting on Zayn's thigh. He's been marathoning Marvel movies all day, which is exhausting, obviously. "Can I see?" He tries to ask, but most of it is lost in Zayn's trackies.

Even so, Zayn drops the pad on Louis' lap so he can trace the outline of what seems to be SuperLouis; a muscled version of himself donning a lycra suit.

Louis scoffs and then sits up when he notices the betrayed look on Zayn's face. He smooths the hair from Zayn's forehead and drops a kiss on his temple.

"It's great! The suit is fantastic. Don't really think my legs look _that_ good though, babe," he presses.

Zayn pulls away, and Louis watches as his eyes mollify, the crease between his eyebrows disappearing.

"Louis! You've got the best legs in town, have you seen?" Zayn's hands unintentionally run over Louis' thigh and leave graphite daubs behind. "Anyways, your super power is, uh," he reddens a little, and Louis watches the flush paint it's way down his cheek. "You know Mrs. Incredible? Like. Like that," Zayn reddens even more and Louis watches as he tries to push himself into the cushions, which means there's some other power that's making Zayn flustered.

Louis climbs over his legs and settles on Zayn's lap. "Why?"

He watches Zayn's lashes flutter quickly and then as he shuts his eyes tightly. "I– can you imagine the _sex_ , Lou?"

He feels a laugh bubble out of his chest before he can stop himself, and then leans forward and pushes his lips onto Zayn's.

"You were thinking," he laughs into Zayn's mouth, "about _sex_ when you watched _The Incredibles_? Indecent, that."

He bites Louis' lip as a response, and that he can't argue with.

.

“Zayn,” Louis sings down the hall, drawing out the ‘a’ and seeing how high his voice can reach. “Did you do the laundry, Zee?”

He hears a thump somewhere near the back of their flat and traces it back towards their bedroom. Zayn’s sitting on the floor and resting his head against their white duvet, surrounded by piles of dirty clothes.

“Why do we even have a hamper,” Zayn complains. “Was about to do the laundry, probably. Definitely. Almost definitely,” he amends, and then scrunches his nose and crosses his eyes, like he’s trying to distract Louis.

Louis feels a ball of fondness unfurling in his stomach, something he’s tried to keep under control from the very first day he met Zayn, crashing into the uni bookstore looking for an annotated translation of _One Hundred Years of Solitude_.

“Stop that,” he scolds Zayn, because _honestly_. “It’s not even attractive. I’m going to break up with you, because you’re the least attractive man I have ever laid my eyes on.”

“And, somehow, the most attractive man you’ve ever been laid by, correct?” Zayn says, but it’s completely invalid because he’s still crossing his eyes.

Louis gives up and sits on top of Zayn’s hoodie, which is on the floor right next to a pair of rainbow kneehigh socks that he may or may not have bought just so he could skate around their apartment naked (being fucked by Zayn in only kneehighs was just a bonus) (really).

“You’re so dumb, Zayn, honestly. I’m pretty sure you have to be fairly stupid to get eyelashes that long. I bet instead of reading you just bought eyelash serums and sang to your lashes to get them to grow longer. God, Zayn, you’re so stupid.”

And then, because he feels slightly bad,

“I love you.”

Zayn smiles sunnily, like that’s the only sentiment he heard leave Louis’ mouth, which is Not Okay.

“Love you too, Lou.”

Louis just huffs, god, who was in charge of distributing lip pigments. Certainly not Louis, that’s for sure, because he would have given Zayn a nasty shade of brown, maybe. Or black. Yeah, nobody could pull of black lips, not even Zayn. Maybe he’ll by black lipstick and force him to wear it all the time.

“I said ‘olive ew,’ Zayn. God, you’re so stupid.”

He tries to stand up and make a dramatic exit, but his life would probably be classified under ‘horrible sitcom’ if it was a television show, so. He slips on Zayn’s hoodie and lands in the boy’s lap and, somehow or another, his lips are on Zayn’s and he really can’t complain.

.

Later, Louis sits at the counter and watches Zayn search the cupboards.

"Did we eat the last of the penne, Lou? When's the last time we went grocery shopping?

Louis looks at the floor and studies the wood. He contemplates the benefits of hardwood flooring over tiles. "I mean, technically I went yesterday."

"And you technically only bought Digestives and Percy Pigs, am I correct?"

"Hey, hey, they came out with veggie ones! You can eat them now!" But, yeah. That sounds about right.

Zayn's nose scrunches. "Are they any good? I've just now remembered why I don't send you shopping alone. Are Li and Harry free? Niall? Maybe we can eat out again, at. What's that place? The Mexican one, with the burritos?"

"Chilango, I think. Anyways, it's their date night, they've gone ice skating or summat. And Niall's at the aquarium."

"They go on dates every night of the week, don't know why they bother," Zayn's brow furrows and he bites on his lower lip. "Do you think we ought to go on dates more? We spend an awful lot of time, like. Sitting together."

Louis stops for a second, forgets telling the landlord about a dent in the dishwasher and forgets telling Zayn about the 'NSYNC reunion Harry's got tickets for. "Why?" He clears his throat then, because he's fairly certain he's never heard his voice quite so high. "Is it– Is this not. Are we? Not enough?"

He's embarrassingly red in the face, he can feel, and he hears Zayn's feet rapidly coming towards him.

"No! No. _No_ , Louis. I just thought that Liam and Harry are always doing such proper couple stuff and we're so. Domestic like?" He touches Louis' cheek and tilts his face towards his own. "It's good! It's _great_ , everything I've ever wanted, to be honest. But maybe we could try? Just something small! We could do dinner every Wednesday or something? After your Anthro?"

Louis straightens his breathing, and he knows Zayn's not going to just up and _leave_ , but it's still a fear, probably. "Yes, yeah that sounds good. Wednesday's at 7:30 we get dinner."

Zayn nods, still a little apprehensive.

"You do know that you're, like, _it_ for me, right, Lou?" Louis nods a little, and then smiles up at Zayn. "Yeah, okay, just so you know."

He leans forward and moves Louis against the counter and then smooths his lips against Louis'.

.

Wednesday after Louis' Anthropology Zayn is sitting outside the class. He's dressed up a little, has on a blue button-down and his glasses that make Louis slightly delirious.

Louis' just wearing a white jumper and maroon trousers, but it'll do. He's done his hair up, which is probably all that matters.

As soon as he's stepped out of the class Zayn jumps up and kisses Louis' cheek.

"You look great, babe. Fabulous. Phenomenal. Ravishing. Divine. Sen–" Louis kisses him, because, seriously, they can't all look like Zayn Malik.

He pulls back, admittedly a little breathlessly because it's not every day that he gets to make out with a ridiculously attractive guy (actually, Louis _does_ get to make out with a ridiculously attractive guy every day, but he chooses to overlook this detail) (why exactly Zayn still blows him away with his longer-than-legal lashes and roseate lips is beyond all reason) (it's not like Louis _isn't_ good-looking, because he totally is) (Zayn is just something else) (that's all).

"Ready, then? How was class?" Zayn asks as he guides Louis through the doors and across the street into Chilango. It feels a little formal, scripted maybe. It’s possible Louis is just used to discussing Black Ops cheats and extra Marvel scenes with Zayn and that’s about it, so talking about things like _school_ is strange.

"It was okay, you know how Warner can be sometimes. All," he waves his hand around in a vaguely circular motion. "Roundabout."

Zayn walks them over to a table near the back by a Spiderman poster. "Right, right, I'd forgotten about Warner. D'you want to sit here while I order?" he asks, and it's probably not an ideal date venue, but it's casual and easy and so, so Zayn and Louis.

"Yeah, sure. I'll just sit here and look pretty, I suppose," he grins up at Zayn with crinkles by his eyes to make sure the jocularity of his statement carries.

.

The conversation flows easy, always does with Zayn. And it's good, the food is better than the half-cooked pasta Zayn usually makes and it's refreshing to be with Zayn outside of their flat again.

“So, do I get to take you out some time? How exactly does this work?” Louis questions, because how do boyfriends work?

“Er, I suppose? Liam always takes out Harry, but that’s probably because Harry is trophy wife material,” Zayn muses, and Louis imagines Harry with manicured nails and a puffy winter jacket. It’s actually not a picture he’s made up, which might be sad; this is really how Harry dresses when he watches Liam’s pick-up games at the park – manicure and all.

“Maybe, but am _I_ trophy wife material do you think?” He tries to imagine himself in designer sunglasses and spotless shoes.

“Nah, don’t quite think so. I’d still like to think I was,” he moves his hand in what Louis supposes Zayn thinks is a clarifying gesture, but is really just the outline of a rabbit. “You know.”

Louis doesn’t know, and he says as much to Zayn, who paints himself bright red and leans forward.

“Sort of, like. Courting you, I guess.”

Louis wants to laugh, really, but it doesn’t seem quite so appropriate, especially with Zayn’s flush crawling all the way down his neck and past his collar.

“Right, right. We’re going steady like the 60’s, I’m a tiny, golden girl with curlers in my hair and you’re a man with muscles and a nice back.”

“Your words, not mine,” Zayn winks, and Louis kicks him in the shin and sort of wishes he could reach higher, but. Short legs or something.

Zayn pays the bill, of course he does, because he’s trying to fucking _woo_ Louis, like he wasn’t already completely gone after the first time Zayn blinked (he remembers gushing to Niall _my god, he does this slow sweep thing, he definitely does it on purpose, and oh my god, Niall, we’re soulmates, I know, and he was so nervous, which is the whole thing because oh my god he’s so stupid_ , but that’s neither here nor there).

There’s this part of Louis that has been longing for the deflated sofa and eight rounds of FIFA and Zayn sketching Louis' victory face and Louis' shoulders and Louis as Elastigirl the whole night. He feels a little guilty, because the date is nice, and the food is nice, and Zayn is nice, but he catches Zayn’s eye on the way home, with their hands clasped and knees knocking, and he can see his relief in returning home as well.

.

On Saturday, Zayn takes Louis rollerblading. Now it _proper_ seems like they’ve regressed a few decades, because the entire arena smells mothball-ey and the speaker system is piping music that hasn’t been played on anything but the oldie’s station for at least fifty years.

It’s a slight fiasco trying to rent rollerblades, as Louis can’t actually remember what shoe size he wears whenever Zayn does anything. Trying to put the boots on is a mess as well, because Louis is watching Zayn’s hair flop onto his forehead as he bends to tie his shoe and he’s imagining all the _other_ things they could be doing with Zayn in that position, but he’s also trying to fasten his own rollerblade with shaking fingers. It goes about as well as expected.

Zayn tries to tie Louis’ shoe for him, but he’s not having any of it.

Eventually he pushes Zayn into the men’s bathroom, which is much easier when Zayn is on rollerblades, and then asks the employee behind the rental desk to tie his shoes for him.

When they finally step on the rink, Louis notices that they’re literally the only people there.

After that, he’s a riot. He requests Top 40 songs, and indie songs, and R&B songs, and everything other than The Temptations’ rendition of _My Girl_ , which is about the only song they’ve been able to play for the past hour.

Zayn is ace at skating, but Louis has a sneaking suspicion that he’s been coming to the rink to practice for this date, which. Is technically cheating, but he thinks he’ll let it slide just this once, because Louis is on the floor more than he's standing, which means he's landing on Zayn nearly all of the time and bringing him down as well.

Zayn grabs Louis’ hands and skates backwards, singing loudly along to the lyrics, _I don’t need no money, fortune, or fame, I’ve got all the riches, baby, one man can claim_.

Louis, for his part, is both laughing and trying not to land on his bad knee when he falls. Sometimes he forgets exactly how terribly Zayn’s voice affects him, and it’s devastatingly altering his ability to skate more than three steps without falling.

It's good though; Louis gets a kiss on every bruise when he gets home and Zayn lets him watch any movie he wants.

He's opening a carton of vanilla coconut milk ice cream, because Zayn's Art Studies prof said it was even better than the normal stuff, when Zayn's phone goes off.

"Lou, babe, did Harry tell you about an 'NSYNC concert he has tickets to? Li wants to know if we're going."

And, right, he'd forgotten about that. "Er, yeah, are you interested in going?" He walks back into their living room with two spoons.

Zayn's face lights up, and normally he wouldn't be keen on a boyband, but double dating with Liam and Harry is always a good time. He's back on the phone, telling Liam they're definitely coming, and then he's in Louis' lap and sharing the carton.

"'s not bad, huh? Like, less creamy than normal, but it's also sweeter?"

"Melts quick, too. Better hurry up," Louis says, watching Zayn stick his tongue to the top of his mouth when the cold overwhelms his teeth.

It's a little later, when they're almost near the end of _Made of Honor_ , when Zayn laughs suddenly.

"Do y'know what Liam told me, babe? He and Harry have stopped their date nights, they think they should try being more like us for a little bit to– settle, I think? S’ridiculous, is what it is. They’re, like, constant newlyweds," Zayn says sleepily, drifting off.

"Don't you think," Louis stops and sucks in a breath. "Don't you think, maybe, that we work well together also? Without the date nights? Like, proper marrieds or something."

Zayn's nearly asleep, but he nods a little and then mouths _we are going to be proper marrieds some day, you know_ onto Louis' shoulder and he drops a kiss into Zayn's hair.

.

The concert is fantastic, really. Justin Timberlake is _such_ a performer, and he sings along to all the songs with Liam. He’s been nursing a beer all night, but it’s sloshing out of the cup and onto his shirt whenever he tries to dance.

Zayn isn’t as into the music as he is, but he is interested in watching Louis enjoy himself, which works out for everybody, really. Harry spends half the concert staring at the ceiling and the other half eating an orange he found in the elevator. It’s strange that Harry even bought the tickets, seeing as he only really listens to hipster shit, but his intentions become clearer when Louis sees Liam bouncing excitedly in place and mouthing lyrics in Harry’s direction.

It’s always a cool experience to watch Liam and Harry in their element – elaborate dates and a general I’m–really–trying–to–impress–you vibe. He imagines it would be the same to see Zayn and Louis interacting at home on the couch, Louis pressed along Zayn’s back as he tries to cop a feel of Zayn’s crotch and steal his drawing pad at the same time.

There are some things that he notices are the same, though. The way Liam unconsciously grabs Harry’s hand when his favorite songs play and how Harry watches him with crinkled eyes and bright teeth and the way Liam can fit his chin on Harry’s shoulder and sway gently without prompting.

Liam and Harry probably shouldn’t stop date nights completely, he decides. He and Zayn probably shouldn’t start date nights regularly, he also decides.

The thing is, it doesn’t really matter how often Louis and Zayn go out to eat dinner every week, because Zayn knows how to make half-cooked penne and Louis knows how to not use a hamper, and those are really the only important things that Louis knows for sure.

And that Zayn is stupid – _so_ stupid.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this for a while because I wanted to get it over 2000 words, and I think I succeeded? so comments and kudos and all that would be so very nice  
> also, I don't know if I've said this before, but I do take prompts. in case anybody wants me to fill one  
> find me on tumblr at sinabit


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